Proximity-based control of media devices

ABSTRACT

Embodiments relate generally to electrical/electronic hardware, computer software, wired and wireless network communications, portable, wearable, and stationary media devices. Media devices may include a plurality of RF transceivers, an audio system, and a proximity detection system. The RF transceivers and/or audio system may be used to wirelessly communicate between media devices and allow configuration and other data to be wirelessly transmitted from one media device to another media device. The proximity detection system may be configured to detect a presence of a user or multiple users and upon detecting presence, take some action defined by a user preference and/or environmental conditions around the media device. One or more user devices in proximity of the media device post detection may wirelessly communicate with the media device and the media device may orchestrate handling of content from those devices or from a wirelessly accessible location such as the Cloud or Internet.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application is a continuation of co-pending U.S. patent applicationSer. No. 13/831,422 filed on Mar. 14, 2013 and entitled, “ProximityBased Control of Media Devices”, U.S. patent application Ser. No.13/831,422 is related to the following applications: U.S. patentapplication Ser. No. 13/802,646 filed on Mar. 13, 2013 and entitled“Proximity-Based Control Of Media Devices For Media Presentations”, andto U.S. patent application Ser. No. 13/802,674 filed on Mar. 13, 2013and entitled “Proximity And Interface Controls Of Media Devices ForMedia Presentations”, all of which are hereby incorporated by referencein their entirety for all purposes.

FIELD

Embodiments of the present application relate generally to electricaland electronic hardware, computer software, wired and wireless networkcommunications, wearable, hand held, and portable computing devices forfacilitating communication of information. More specifically, disclosedare media devices that detect proximity of users and/or user devices andtake actions and handle content after detecting presence of users and/oruser devices.

BACKGROUND

Conventional paradigms for media devices require a user to take someaction using a finger press to a touch screen or press a button, or thelike, in order to initiate some function on the device, such aslistening to music, for example. Conventional media devices are notconfigured to recognize and act on user preferences as to how the mediadevice serves the user's needs based on changing circumstances andchanging environments the user and media device are subject to.Furthermore, conventional media devices are typically personal devicesthat are mostly if not always used solely by the user and are thereforenot well adapted to servicing the needs of friends, guests, or the likewho may want to share content on their devices with the user.

Thus, there is a need for devices, systems, methods, and software thatallow a user to configure (e.g., wirelessly) a media device to detect auser's presence, take an action based on the user's presence, and allowfor content from a user device or many devices to be handled based ontheir proximity to the media device.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

Various embodiments or examples (“examples”) of the present applicationare disclosed in the following detailed description and the accompanyingdrawings. The drawings are not necessarily to scale:

FIG. 1 depicts a block diagram of one example of a media deviceaccording to an embodiment of the present application;

FIG. 2A depicts one example of a configuration scenario for a userdevice and a media device according to an embodiment of the presentapplication;

FIG. 2B depicts example scenarios for another media device beingconfigured using a configuration from a previously configured mediadevice according to an embodiment of the present application;

FIG. 3 depicts one example of a flow diagram of a process for installingan application on a user device and configuring a first media deviceusing the application according to an embodiment of the presentapplication;

FIGS. 4A and 4B depict example flow diagrams for processes forconfiguring an un-configured media device according to embodiments ofthe present application;

FIG. 5 depicts a profile view of one example of a media device includingcontrol elements and proximity detection islands according toembodiments of the present application;

FIG. 6 depicts a block diagram of one example of a proximity detectionisland according to embodiments of the present application;

FIG. 7 depicts a top plan view of different examples of proximitydetection island configurations according to embodiments of the presentapplication;

FIG. 8A is a top plan view depicting an example of proximity detectionisland coverage according to embodiments of the present application;

FIG. 8B is a front side view depicting an example of proximity detectionisland coverage according to embodiments of the present application;

FIG. 8C is a side view depicting an example of proximity detectionisland coverage according to embodiments of the present application;

FIG. 9 is a top plan view of a media device including proximitydetection islands configured to detect presence according to embodimentsof the present application;

FIG. 10 depicts one example of a flow for presence detection,notification, and media device readiness according to embodiments of thepresent application;

FIG. 11 depicts another example of a flow for presence detection,notification, and media device readiness according to embodiments of thepresent application; and

FIG. 12 depicts yet another example of a flow for presence detection,notification, and media device readiness according to embodiments of thepresent application.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Various embodiments or examples may be implemented in numerous ways,including as a system, a process, a method, an apparatus, a userinterface, or a series of program instructions on a non-transitorycomputer readable medium such as a computer readable storage medium or acomputer network where the program instructions are sent over optical,electronic, or wireless communication links. In general, operations ofdisclosed processes may be performed in an arbitrary order, unlessotherwise provided in the claims.

A detailed description of one or more examples is provided below alongwith accompanying figures. The detailed description is provided inconnection with such examples, but is not limited to any particularexample. The scope is limited only by the claims and numerousalternatives, modifications, and equivalents are encompassed. Numerousspecific details are set forth in the following description in order toprovide a thorough understanding. These details are provided for thepurpose of example and the described techniques may be practicedaccording to the claims without some or all of these specific details.For clarity, technical material that is known in the technical fieldsrelated to the examples has not been described in detail to avoidunnecessarily obscuring the description.

FIG. 1 depicts a block diagram of one embodiment of a media device 100having systems including but not limited to a controller 101, a datastorage (DS) system 103, a input/output (I/O) system 105, a radiofrequency (RF) system 107, an audio/video (A/V) system 109, a powersystem 111, and a proximity sensing (PROX) system 113. A bus 110 enableselectrical communication between the controller 101, DS system 103, I/Osystem 105, RF system 107, AV system 109, power system 111, and PROXsystem 113. Power bus 112 supplies electrical power from power system111 to the controller 101, DS system 103, I/O system 105, RF system 107,AV system 109, and PROX system 113.

Power system 111 may include a power source internal to the media device100 such as a battery (e.g., AAA or AA batteries) or a rechargeablebattery (e.g., such as a lithium ion or nickel metal hydride typebattery, etc.) denoted as BAT 135. Power system 111 may be electricallycoupled with a port 114 for connecting an external power source (notshown) such as a power supply that connects with an external AC or DCpower source. Examples include but are not limited to a wall wart typeof power supply that converts AC power to DC power or AC power to ACpower at a different voltage level. In other examples, port 114 may be aconnector (e.g., an IEC connector) for a power cord that plugs into anAC outlet or other type of connector, such as a universal serial bus(USB) connector. Power system 111 provides DC power for the varioussystems of media device 100. Power system 111 may convert AC or DC powerinto a form usable by the various systems of media device 100. Powersystem 111 may provide the same or different voltages to the varioussystems of media device 100. In applications where a rechargeablebattery is used for BAT 135, the external power source may be used topower the power system 111, recharge BAT 135, or both. Further, powersystem 111 on its own or under control of controller 101 may beconfigured for power management to reduce power consumption of mediadevice 100, by for example, reducing or disconnecting power from one ormore of the systems in media device 100 when those systems are not inuse or are placed in a standby or idle mode. Power system 111 may alsobe configured to monitor power usage of the various systems in mediadevice 100 and to report that usage to other systems in media device 100and/or to other devices (e.g., including other media devices 100) usingone or more of the I/O system 105, RF system 107, and AV system 109, forexample. Operation and control of the various functions of power system111 may be externally controlled by other devices (e.g., including othermedia devices 100).

Controller 101 controls operation of media device 100 and may include anon-transitory computer readable medium, such as executable program codeto enable control and operation of the various systems of media device100. DS 103 may be used to store executable code used by controller 101in one or more data storage mediums such as ROM, RAM, SRAM, RAM, SSD,Flash, etc., for example. Controller 101 may include but is not limitedto one or more of a microprocessor (μP), a microcontroller (μC), adigital signal processor (DSP), a baseband processor, an applicationspecific integrated circuit (ASIC), just to name a few. Processors usedfor controller 101 may include a single core or multiple cores (e.g.,dual core, quad core, etc.). Port 116 may be used to electrically couplecontroller 101 to an external device (not shown).

DS system 103 may include but is not limited to non-volatile memory(e.g., Flash memory), SRAM, DRAM, ROM, SSD, just to name a few. In thatthe media device 100 in some applications is designed to be compact,portable, or to have a small size footprint, memory in DS 103 willtypically be solid state memory (e.g., no moving or rotatingcomponents); however, in some application a hard disk drive (HDD) orhybrid HDD may be used for all or some of the memory in DS 103. In someexamples, DS 103 may be electrically coupled with a port 128 forconnecting an external memory source (e.g., USB Flash drive, SD, SDHC,SDXC, microSD, Memory Stick, CF, SSD, etc.). Port 128 may be a USB ormini USB port for a Flash drive or a card slot for a Flash memory card.In some examples as will be explained in greater detail below, DS 103includes data storage for configuration data, denoted as CFG 125, usedby controller 101 to control operation of media device 100 and itsvarious systems. DS 103 may include memory designated for use by othersystems in media device 100 (e.g., MAC addresses for WiFi 130, networkpasswords, data for settings and parameters for A/V 109, and other datafor operation and/or control of media device 100, etc.). DS 103 may alsostore data used as an operating system (OS) for controller 101. Ifcontroller 101 includes a DSP, then DS 103 may store data, algorithms,program code, an OS, etc. for use by the DSP, for example. In someexamples, one or more systems in media device 100 may include their owndata storage systems.

I/O system 105 may be used to control input and output operationsbetween the various systems of media device 100 via bus 110 and betweensystems external to media device 100 via port 118. Port 118 may be aconnector (e.g., USB, HDMI, Ethernet, fiber optic, Toslink, Firewire,IEEE 1394, or other) or a hard wired (e.g., captive) connection thatfacilitates coupling I/O system 105 with external systems. In someexamples port 118 may include one or more switches, buttons, or thelike, used to control functions of the media device 100 such as a powerswitch, a standby power mode switch, a button for wireless pairing, anaudio muting button, an audio volume control, an audio mute button, abutton for connecting/disconnecting from a WiFi network, an infrared(IR) transceiver, just to name a few. I/O system 105 may also controlindicator lights, audible signals, or the like (not shown) that givestatus information about the media device 100, such as a light toindicate the media device 100 is powered up, a light to indicate themedia device 100 is in wireless communication (e.g., WiFi, Bluetooth®,WiMAX, cellular, etc.), a light to indicate the media device 100 isBluetooth® paired, in Bluetooth® pairing mode, Bluetooth® communicationis enabled, a light to indicate the audio and/or microphone is muted,just to name a few. Audible signals may be generated by the I/O system105 or via the AV system 107 to indicate status, etc. of the mediadevice 100. Audible signals may be used to announce Bluetooth® status,powering up or down the media device 100, muting the audio ormicrophone, an incoming phone call, a new message such as a text, email,or SMS, just to name a few. In some examples, I/O system 105 may useoptical technology to wirelessly communicate with other media devices100 or other devices. Examples include but are not limited to infrared(IR) transmitters, receivers, transceivers, an IR LED, and an IRdetector, just to name a few. I/O system 105 may include an opticaltransceiver OPT 185 that includes an optical transmitter 185 t (e.g., anIR LED) and an optical receiver 185 r (e.g., a photo diode). OPT 185 mayinclude the circuitry necessary to drive the optical transmitter 185 twith encoded signals and to receive and decode signals received by theoptical receiver 185 r. Bus 110 may be used to communicate signals toand from OPT 185. OPT 185 may be used to transmit and receive IRcommands consistent with those used by infrared remote controls used tocontrol AV equipment, televisions, computers, and other types of systemsand consumer electronics devices. The IR commands may be used to controland configure the media device 100, or the media device 100 may use theIR commands to configure/re-configure and control other media devices orother user devices, for example.

RF system 107 includes at least one RF antenna 124 that is electricallycoupled with a plurality of radios (e.g., RF transceivers) including butnot limited to a Bluetooth® (BT) transceiver 120, a WiFi transceiver 130(e.g., for wireless communications over a wireless and/or WiMAXnetwork), and a proprietary Ad Hoc (AH) transceiver 140 pre-configured(e.g., at the factory) to wirelessly communicate with a proprietary AdHoc wireless network (AH-WiFi) (not shown). AH 140 and AH-WiFi areconfigured to allow wireless communications between similarly configuredmedia devices (e.g., an ecosystem comprised of a plurality of similarlyconfigured media devices) as will be explained in greater detail below.RF system 107 may include more or fewer radios than depicted in FIG. 1and the number and type of radios will be application dependent.Furthermore, radios in RF system 107 need not be transceivers, RF system107 may include radios that transmit only or receive only, for example.Optionally, RF system 107 may include a radio 150 configured for RFcommunications using a proprietary format, frequency band, or otherformat or frequency band existent now or to be implemented in thefuture. Radio 150 may be used for cellular communications (e.g., 3G, 4G,or other), for example. Antenna 124 may be configured to be a de-tunableantenna such that it may be de-tuned 129 over a wide range of RFfrequencies including but not limited to licensed bands, unlicensedbands, WiFi, WiMAX, cellular bands, Bluetooth®, from about 2.0 GHz toabout 6.0 GHz range, and broadband, just to name a few. As will bediscussed below, PROX system 113 may use the de-tuning 129 capabilitiesof antenna 124 to sense proximity of the user, other people, therelative locations of other media devices 100, just to name a few. Radio150 (e.g., a transceiver) or other transceiver in RF system 107, may beused in conjunction with the de-tuning capabilities of antenna 124 tosense proximity, to detect and or spatially locate other RF sources suchas those from other media devices 100, devices of a user, just to name afew. RF system 107 may include a port 123 configured to connect the RFsystem 107 with an external component or system, such as an external RFantenna, for example. The transceivers depicted in FIG. 1 arenon-limiting examples of the type of transceivers that may be includedin RF system 107. RF system 107 may include a first transceiverconfigured to wirelessly communicate using a first protocol, a secondtransceiver configured to wirelessly communicate using a secondprotocol, a third transceiver configured to wirelessly communicate usinga third protocol, and so on. One of the transceivers in RF system 107may be configured for short range RF communications, such as within arange from about 1 meter to about 15 meters, or less, for example.Another one of the transceivers in RF system 107 may be configured forlong range RF communications, such any range up to about 50 meters ormore, for example. Short range RF may include Bluetooth®; whereas, longrange RF may include WiFi, WiMAX, cellular, and Ad Hoc wireless, forexample.

AV system 109 includes at least one audio transducer, such as a loudspeaker 160, a microphone 170, or both. AV system 109 further includescircuitry such as amplifiers, preamplifiers, or the like as necessary todrive or process signals to/from the audio transducers. Optionally, AVsystem 109 may include a display (DISP) 180, video device (VID) 190(e.g., an image capture device or a web CAM, etc.), or both. DISP 180may be a display and/or touch screen (e.g., a LCD, OLED, or flat paneldisplay) for displaying video media, information relating to operationof media device 100, content available to or operated on by the mediadevice 100, playlists for media, date and/or time of day, alpha-numerictext and characters, caller ID, file/directory information, a GUI, justto name a few. A port 122 may be used to electrically couple AV system109 with an external device and/or external signals. Port 122 may be aUSB, HDMI, Firewire/IEEE-1394, 3.5 mm audio jack, or other. For example,port 122 may be a 3.5 mm audio jack for connecting an external speaker,headphones, earphones, etc. for listening to audio content beingprocessed by media device 100. As another example, port 122 may be a 3.5mm audio jack for connecting an external microphone or the audio outputfrom an external device. In some examples, SPK 160 may include but isnot limited to one or more active or passive audio transducers such aswoofers, concentric drivers, tweeters, super tweeters, midrange drivers,sub-woofers, passive radiators, just to name a few. MIC 170 may includeone or more microphones and the one or more microphones may have anypolar pattern suitable for the intended application including but notlimited to omni-directional, directional, bi-directional,uni-directional, bi-polar, uni-polar, any variety of cardioid pattern,and shotgun, for example. MIC 170 may be configured for mono, stereo, orother. MIC 170 may be configured to be responsive (e.g., generate anelectrical signal in response to sound) to any frequency range includingbut not limited to ultrasonic, infrasonic, from about 20 Hz to about 20kHz, and any range within or outside of human hearing. In someapplications, the audio transducer of AV system 109 may serve dual rolesas both a speaker and a microphone.

Circuitry in AV system 109 may include but is not limited to adigital-to-analog converter (DAC) and algorithms for decoding andplayback of media files such as MP3, FLAG, AIFF, ALAC, WAV, MPEG,QuickTime, AVI, compressed media files, uncompressed media files, andlossless media files, just to name a few, for example. A DAC may be usedby AV system 109 to decode wireless data from a user device or from anyof the radios in RF system 107. AV system 109 may also include ananalog-to-digital converter (ADC) for converting analog signals, fromMIC 170 for example, into digital signals for processing by one or moresystem in media device 100.

Media device 100 may be used for a variety of applications including butnot limited to wirelessly communicating with other wireless devices,other media devices 100, wireless networks, and the like for playback ofmedia (e.g., streaming content), such as audio, for example. The actualsource for the media need not be located on a user's device (e.g., smartphone, MP3 player, iPod, iPhone, iPad, Android, laptop, PC, etc.). Forexample, media files to be played back on media device 100 may belocated on the Internet, a web site, or in the Cloud, and media device100 may access (e.g., over a WiFi network via WiFi 130) the files,process data in the files, and initiate playback of the media files.Media device 100 may access or store in its memory a playlist orfavorites list and playback content listed in those lists. In someapplications, media device 100 will store content (e.g., files) to beplayed back on the media device 100 or on another media device 100.

Media device 100 may include a housing, a chassis, an enclosure or thelike, denoted in FIG. 1 as 199. The actual shape, configuration,dimensions, materials, features, design, ornamentation, aesthetics, andthe like of housing 199 will be application dependent and a matter ofdesign choice. Therefore, housing 199 need not have the rectangular formdepicted in FIG. 1 or the shape, configuration etc., depicted in theDrawings of the present application. Nothing precludes housing 199 fromcomprising one or more structural elements, that is, the housing 199 maybe comprised of several housings that form media device 100. Housing 199may be configured to be worn, mounted, or otherwise connected to orcarried by a human being. For example, housing 199 may be configured asa wristband, an earpiece, a headband, a headphone, a headset, anearphone, a hand held device, a portable device, a desktop device, justto name a few.

In other examples, housing 199 may be configured as a speaker, asubwoofer, a conference call speaker, an intercom, a media playbackdevice, just to name a few. If configured as a speaker, then the housing199 may be configured as a variety of speaker types including but notlimited to a left channel speaker, a right channel speaker, a centerchannel speaker, a left rear channel speaker, a right rear channelspeaker, a subwoofer, a left channel surround speaker, a right channelsurround speaker, a left channel height speaker, a right channel heightspeaker, any speaker in a 3.1, 5.1, 7.1, 9.1 or other surround soundformat including those having two or more subwoofers or having two ormore center channels, for example. In other examples, housing 199 may beconfigured to include a display (e.g., DISP 180) for viewing video,serving as a touch screen interface for a user, providing an interfacefor a GUI, for example.

PROX system 113 may include one or more sensors denoted as SEN 195 thatare configured to sense 197 an environment 198 external to the housing199 of media device 100. Using SEN 195 and/or other systems in mediadevice 100 (e.g., antenna 124, SPK 160, MIC 170, etc.), PROX system 113senses 197 an environment 198 that is external to the media device 100(e.g., external to housing 199). PROX system 113 may be used to senseone or more of proximity of the user or other persons to the mediadevice 100 or other media devices 100. PROX system 113 may use a varietyof sensor technologies for SEN 195 including but not limited toultrasound, infrared (IR), passive infrared (PIR), optical, acoustic,vibration, light, ambient light sensor (ALS), IR proximity sensors, LEDemitters and detectors, RGB LED's, RF, temperature, capacitive,capacitive touch, inductive, just to name a few. PROX system 113 may beconfigured to sense location of users or other persons, user devices,and other media devices 100, without limitation. Output signals fromPROX system 113 may be used to configure media device 100 or other mediadevices 100, to re-configure and/or re-purpose media device 100 or othermedia devices 100 (e.g., change a role the media device 100 plays forthe user, based on a user profile or configuration data), just to name afew. A plurality of media devices 100 in an eco-system of media devices100 may collectively use their respective PROX system 113 and/or othersystems (e.g., RF 107, de-tunable antenna 124, AV 109, etc.) toaccomplish tasks including but not limited to changing configuration,re-configuring one or more media devices, implement user specifiedconfigurations and/or profiles, insertion and/or removal of one or moremedia devices in an eco-system, just to name a few.

In other examples, PROX 113 may include one or more proximity detectionislands PSEN 520 as will be discussed in greater detail in FIGS. 5-6.PSEN 520 may be positioned at one or more locations on chassis 199 andconfigured to sense an approach of a user or other person towards themedia device 100 or to sense motion or gestures of a user or otherperson by a portion of the body such as a hand for example. PSEN 520 maybe used in conjunction with or in place of one or more of SEN 195, OPT185, SPK 160, MIC 170, RF 107 and/or de-tunable 129 antenna 124 to senseproximity and/or presence in an environment surrounding the media device100, for example. PSEN 520 may be configured to take or cause an actionto occur upon detection of an event (e.g., an approach or gesture byuser 201 or other) such as emitting light (e.g., via an LED), generatinga sound or announcement (e.g., via SPK 160), causing a vibration (e.g.,via SPK 160 or a vibration motor), display information (e.g., via DISP180), trigger haptic feedback, for example. In some examples, PSEN 520may be included in I/O 105 instead of PROX 113 or be shared between oneor more systems of media device 100. In other examples, components,circuitry, and functionality of PSEN 520 may vary among a plurality ofPSEN 520 sensors in media device 100 such that all PSEN 520 are notidentical.

Simple Out-of-the-Box User Experience

Attention is now directed to FIG. 2A, where a scenario 200 a depicts oneexample of a media device (e.g., media device 100 of FIG. 1 or asimilarly provisioned media device) being configured for the first timeby a user 201. For purposes of explanation, in FIG. 2A media device isdenoted as 100 a to illustrate that it is the first time the mediadevice 100 a is being configured. For example, the first configurationof media device 100 a may be after it is purchased, acquired, borrowed,or otherwise by user 201, that is, the first time may be the initialout-of-the-box configuration of media device 100 a when it is new.Scenario 200 a depicts a desirable user experience for user 201 toachieve the objective of making the configuring of media device 100 a aseasy, straight forward, and fast as possible.

To that end, in FIG. 2A, scenario 200 a may include media device 100 ato be configured, for example, initially by user 201 using a variety ofdevices 202 including but not limited to a smartphone 210, a tablet 220,a laptop computer 230, a data-capable wristband or the like 240, adesktop PC or server 250, . . . etc. For purposes of simplifyingexplanation, the following description will focus on tablet 220,although the description may apply to any of the other devices 202 aswell. Upon initial power up of media device 100 a, controller 101 maycommand RF system 107 to electrically couple 224 transceiver BT 120 withantenna 124, and command BT 120 to begin listening 126 for a BT pairingsignal from device 220. Here, user 201 as part of the initializationprocess may have already used a Bluetooth® menu on tablet 220 toactivate the BT radio and associated software in tablet 220 to beginsearching (e.g., via RF) for a BT device to pair with. Pairing mayrequire a code (e.g., a PIN number or code) to be entered by the user201 for the device being paired with, and the user 201 may enter aspecific code or a default code such as “0000”, for example.

Subsequently, after tablet 220 and media device 100 a have successfullyBT paired with one another, the process of configuring media device 100a to service the specific needs of user 201 may begin. In some examples,after successful BT pairing, BT 120 need not be used for wirelesscommunication between media device 100 a and the user's device (e.g.,tablet 220 or other). Controller 101, after a successful BT pairing, maycommand RF system 107 to electrically couple 228, WiFi 130 with antenna124 and wireless communications between tablet 220 and media device 100a (see 260, 226) may occur over a wireless network (e.g., WiFi or WiMAX)or other as denoted by wireless access point 270. Post-pairing, tablet220 requires a non-transitory computer readable medium that includesdata and/or executable code to form a configuration (CFG) 125 for mediadevice 100 a. For purposes of explanation, the non-transitory computerreadable medium will be denoted as an application (APP) 225. APP 225resides on or is otherwise accessible by tablet 220 or media device 100a. User 201 uses APP 225 (e.g., through a GUI, menu, drop down boxes, orthe like) to make selections that comprise the data and/or executablecode in the CFG 125.

APP 225 may be obtained by tablet 220 in a variety of ways. In oneexample, the media device 100 a includes instructions (e.g., on itspackaging or in a user manual) for a website on the Internet 250 wherethe APP 225 may be downloaded. Tablet 220 may use its WiFi or CellularRF systems to communicate with wireless access point 270 (e.g., a celltower or wireless router) to connect 271 with the website and downloadAPP 255 which is stored on tablet 220 as APP 225. In another example,tablet 220 may scan or otherwise image a bar code or TAG operative toconnect the tablet 220 with a location (e.g., on the Internet 250) wherethe APP 225 may be found and downloaded. Tablet 220 may have access toan applications store such as Google Play for Android devices, the AppleApp Store for iOS devices, or the Windows 8 App Store for Windows 8devices. The APP 225 may then be downloaded from the app store. In yetanother example, after pairing, media device 100 a may be preconfiguredto either provide (e.g., over the BT 120 or WiFi 130) an address orother location that is communicated to tablet 220 and the tablet 220uses the information to locate and download the APP 225. In anotherexample, media device 100 a may be preloaded with one or more versionsof APP 225 for use in different device operating systems (OS), such asone version for Android, another for iOS, and yet another for Windows 8,etc. In that OS versions and/or APP 225 are periodically updated, mediadevice 100 a may use its wireless systems (e.g., BT 120 or WiFi 130) todetermine if the preloaded versions are out of date and need to bereplaced with newer versions, which the media device 100 a obtains,downloads, and subsequently makes available for download to tablet 220.

Regardless of how the APP 225 is obtained, once the APP 225 is installedon any of the devices 202, the user 201 may use the APP 225 to selectvarious options, commands, settings, etc. for CFG 125 according to theuser's preferences, needs, media device ecosystem, etc., for example.After the user 201 finalizes the configuration process, CFG 125 isdownloaded (e.g., using BT 120 or WiFi 130) into DS system 103 in mediadevice 100 a. Controller 101 may use the CFG 125 and/or other executablecode to control operation of media device 100 a. In FIG. 2A, the sourcefor APP 225 may be obtained from a variety of locations including butnot limited to: the Internet 250; a file or the like stored in theCloud; a web site; a server farm; a FTP site; a drop box; an app store;a manufactures web site; or the like, just to name a few. APP 225 may beinstalled using other processes including but not limited to: draggingand dropping the appropriate file into a directory, folder, desktop orthe like on tablet 220; emailing the APP 225 as an attachment, acompressed or ZIP file; cutting and pasting the App 225, just to name afew.

CFG 125 may include data such as the name and password for a wirelessnetwork (e.g., 270) so that WiFi 130 may connect with (see 226) and usethe wireless network for future wireless communications, data forconfiguring subsequently purchased devices 100, data to access media forplayback, just to name a few. By using the APP 225, user 201 may updateCFG 125 as the needs of the user 201 change over time, that is, APP 225may be used to re-configure an existing CFG 125. Furthermore, APP 225may be configured to check for updates and to query the user 201 toaccept the updates such that if an update is accepted an updated versionof the APP 225 may be installed on tablet 220 or on any of the otherdevices 202. Although the previous discussion has focused on installingthe APP 225 and CFG 125, one skilled in the art will appreciate thatother data may be installed on devices 202 and/or media device 100 ausing the process described above. As one example, APP 225 or some otherprogram may be used to perform software, firmware, or data updates ondevice 100 a. DS system 103 on device 100 a may include storage setaside for executable code (e.g., an operating system) and data used bycontroller 101 and/or the other systems depicted in FIG. 1.

Moving on to FIG. 2B, where a several example scenarios of how apreviously configured media device 100 a that includes CFG 125 may beused to configure another media device 100 b that is initiallyun-configured. In scenario 200 b, media device 100 a is already poweredup or is turned on (e.g., by user 201) or is otherwise activated suchthat its RF system 107 is operational. Accordingly, at stage 290 a,media device 100 a is powered up and configured to detect RF signaturesfrom other powered up media devices using its RF system 107. At stage290 b another media device denoted as 100 b is introduced into RFproximity of media device 100 a and is powered up so that its RF system107 is operational and configured to detect RF signatures from otherpowered up media devices (e.g., signature of media device 100 a). HereRF proximity broadly means within adequate signal strength range of theBT transceivers 120, WiFi transceivers 130, or any other transceivers inRF system 107, RF systems in the users devices (e.g., 202, 220), andother wireless devices such as wireless routers, WiFi networks (e.g.,270), WiMAX networks, and cellular networks, for example. Adequatesignal strength range is any range that allows for reliable RFcommunications between wireless devices. For BT enabled devices,adequate signal strength range may be determined by the BTspecification, but is subject to change as the BT specification andtechnology evolve. For example, adequate signal strength range for BT120 may be approximately 10 meters (e.g., ˜30 feet). For WiFi 130,adequate signal strength range may vary based on parameters such asdistance from and signal strength of the wireless network, andstructures that interfere with the WiFi signal. However, in most typicalwireless systems adequate signal strength range is usually greater than10 meters.

At stage 290 b, media device 100 b is powered up and at stage 290 c itsBT 120 and the BT 120 of media device 100 a recognize each other. Forexample, each media device (100 a, 100 b) may be pre-configured (e.g.,at the factory) to broadcast a unique RF signature or other wirelesssignature (e.g., acoustic) at power up and/or when it detects the uniquesignature of another device. The unique RF signature may include statusinformation including but not limited to the configuration state of amedia device. Each BT 120 may be configured to allow communications withand control by another media device based on the information in theunique RF signature. Accordingly, at the stage 290 c, media device 100 btransmits RF information that includes data that informs other listeningBT 120's (e.g., BT 120 in 100 a) that media device 100 b isun-configured (e.g., has no CFG 125).

At stage 290 d, media devices 100 a and 100 b negotiate the necessaryprotocols and/or handshakes that allow media device 100 a to gain accessto DS 103 of media device 100 b. At stage 290 e, media device 100 b isready to receive CFG 125 from media device 100 a, and at stage 290 f theCFG 125 from media device 100 a is transmitted to media device 100 b andis replicated (e.g., copied, written, etc.) in the DS 103 of mediadevice 100 b, such that media device 100 b becomes a configured mediadevice.

Data in CFG 125 may include information on wireless network 270,including but not limited to wireless network name, wireless password,MAC addresses of other media devices, media specific configuration suchas speaker type (e.g., left, right, center channel), audio mute,microphone mute, etc. Some configuration data may be subservient toother data or dominant to other data. After the stage 290 f, mediadevice 100 a, media device 100 b, and user device 220 may wirelesslycommunicate 291 with one another over wireless network 270 using theWiFi systems of user device 220 and WiFi 130 of media devices 100 a and100 b.

APP 225 may be used to input the above data into CFG 125, for exampleusing a GUI included with the APP 225. User 201 enters data and makesmenu selections (e.g., on a touch screen display) that will become partof the data for the CFG 125. APP 225 may also be used to update and/orre-configure an existing CFG 125 on a configured media device.Subsequent to the update and/or re-configuring, other configured orun-configured media devices in the user's ecosystem may be updatedand/or re-configured by a previously updated and/or re-configured mediadevice as described herein, thereby relieving the user 201 from havingto perform the update and/or re-configure on several media devices. TheAPP 225 or a location provided by the APP 225 may be used to specifyplaylists, media sources, file locations, and the like. APP 225 may beinstalled on more than one user device 202 and changes to APP 225 on oneuser device may later by replicated on the APP 225 on other user devicesby a synching or update process, for example. APP 225 may be stored onthe internet or in the Cloud and any changes to APP 225 may beimplemented in versions of the APP 225 on various user devices 202 bymerely activating the APP 225 on that device and the APP 225 initiates aquery process to see if any updates to the APP are available, and if so,then the APP 225 updates itself to make the version on the user devicecurrent with the latest version.

Media devices 100 a and 100 b having their respective WiFi 130 enabledto communicate with wireless network 270, tablet 220, or other wirelessdevices of user 201. FIG. 2B includes an alternate scenario 200 b thatmay be used to configure a newly added media device, that is, anun-configured media device (e.g., 100 b). For example, at stage 290 d,media device 100 a, which is assumed to already have its WiFi 130configured for communications with wireless network 270, transmits overits BT 120 the necessary information for media device 100 b to joinwireless network 270. After stage 290 d, media device 100 b, mediadevice 100 a, and tablet 220 are connected 291 to wireless network 270and may communicate wirelessly with one another via network 270.Furthermore, at stage 290 d, media device 100 b is still in anun-configured state. Next, at stage 290 e, APP 225 is active on tablet220 and wirelessly accesses the status of media devices 100 a and 100 b.APP 225 determines that media device 100 b is un-configured and APP 225acts to configure 100 b by harvesting CFG 125 (e.g., getting a copy of)from configured media device 100 a by wirelessly 293 a obtaining CFG 125from media device 100 a and wirelessly 293 b transmitting the harvestedCFG 125 to media device 100 b. Media device 100 b uses its copy of CFG125 to configure itself thereby placing it in a configured state.

After all the devices 220, 100 a, 100 b, are enabled for wirelesscommunications with one another, FIG. 2B depicts yet another examplescenario where after stage 290 d, the APP 225 or any one of the mediadevices 100 a, 100 b, may access 295 the CFG 125 for media device 100 bfrom an external location, such as the Internet, the cloud, etc. asdenoted by 250 where a copy of CFG 125 may be located and accessed fordownload into media device 100 b. APP 255, media device 100 b, or mediadevice 100 a, may access the copy of CFG 125 from 250 and wirelesslyinstall it on media device 100 b.

In the example scenarios depicted in FIG. 2B, it should be noted thatafter the pairing of media device 100 a and tablet 220 in FIG. 2A, theconfiguration of media device 100 b in FIG. 2B did not require tablet220 to use its BT features to pair with media device 100 b to effectuatethe configuration of media device 100 b. Moreover, there was no need forthe BT pairing between tablet 220 and media device 100 a to be broken inorder to effectuate the configuration of media device 100 b.Furthermore, there is no need for table 220 and media devices 100 aand/or 100 b to be BT paired at all with tablet 220 in order toconfigure media device 100 b. Accordingly, from the standpoint of user201, adding a new media device to his/her ecosystem of similarlyprovisioned media devices does not require un-pairing with one or morealready configured devices and then pairing with the new device to beadded to the ecosystem. Instead, one of the already configured devices(e.g., media device 100 a having CFG 125 installed) may negotiate withthe APP 225 and/or the new device to be added to handle theconfiguration of the new device (e.g., device 100 b). Similarlyprovisioned media devices broadly means devices including some, all, ormore of the systems depicted in FIG. 1 and designed (e.g., by the samemanufacture or to the same specifications and/or standards) to operatewith one another in a seamless manner as media devices are added to orremoved from an ecosystem.

Reference is now made to FIG. 3 where a flow diagram 300 depicts oneexample of configuring a first media device using an applicationinstalled on a user device as was described above in regards to FIG. 2A.At a stage 302 a Bluetooth® (BT) discovery mode is activated on a userdevice such as the examples 202 of user devices depicted in FIG. 2A.Typically, a GUI on the user device includes a menu for activating BTdiscovery mode, after which, the user device waits to pick up a BTsignal of a device seeking to pair with the user's device. At a stage304 a first media device (e.g., 100 a) is powered up (if not alreadypowered up). At stage 306 a BT pairing mode is activated on the firstmedia device. Examples of activating BT pairing mode include but are notlimited to pushing a button or activating a switch on the first mediadevice that places the first media device in BT pairing mode such thatits BT 120 is activated to generate a RF signal that the user's devicemay discover while in discovery mode. I/O system 105 of media device 100may receive 118 as a signal the activation of BT pairing mode byactuation of the switch or button and that signal is processed bycontroller 101 to command RF system 107 to activate BT 120 in pairingmode. In other examples, after powering up the first media device, adisplay (e.g., DISP 180) may include a touch screen interface and/or GUIthat guides a user to activate the BT pairing mode on the first mediadevice.

At a stage 308 the user's device and the first media device negotiatethe BT pairing process, and if BT pairing is successful, then the flowcontinues at stage 310. If BT pairing is not successful, then the flowrepeats at the stage 206 until successful BT pairing is achieved. Atstage 310 the user device is connected to a wireless network (if notalready connected) such as a WiFi, WiMAX, or cellular (e.g., 3G or 4G)network. At a stage 312, the wireless network may be used to install anapplication (e.g., APP 225) on the user's device. The location of theAPP (e.g., on the Internet or in the Cloud) may be provided with themedia device or after successful BT pairing, the media device may useits BT 120 to transmit data to the user's device and that data includesa location (e.g., a URI or URL) for downloading or otherwise accessingthe APP. At a stage 314, the user uses the APP to select settings for aconfiguration (e.g., CFG 125) for the first media device. After the usercompletes the configuration, at a stage 316 the user's device installsthe APP on the first media device. The installation may occur in avariety of ways (see FIG. 2A) including but not limited to: using the BTcapabilities of each device (e.g., 220 and 100 a) to install the CFG;using the WiFi capabilities of each device to install the CFG; andhaving the first media device (e.g., 100 a) fetch the CFG from anexternal source such as the Internet or Cloud using its WiFi 130; justto name a few. Optionally, at stages 318-324 a determination of whetheror not the first media device is connected with a wireless network maybe made at a stage 318. If the first media device is already connectedwith a wireless network the “YES” branch may be taken and the flow mayterminate at stage 320. On the other hand, if the first media device isnot connected with a wireless network the “NO” branch may be taken andthe flow continues at a stage 322 where data in the CFG is used toconnect WiFi 130 with a wireless network and the flow may terminate at astage 324. The CFG may contain the information necessary for asuccessful connection between WiFi 130 and the wireless network, such aswireless network name and wireless network password, etc.

Now reference is made to FIG. 4A, where a flow diagram 400 a depicts oneexample of a process for configuring an un-configured media device “B”(e.g., un-configured media device 100 b at stage 290 b of FIG. 2B) usinga configured media device “A” (e.g., media device 100 a having CFG 125of FIG. 2B). At a stage 402 an already configured media device “A” ispowered up. At a stage 404 the RF system (e.g., RF system 107 of FIG. 1)of configured media device “A” is activated. The RF system is configuredto detect RF signals from other “powered up” media devices. At a stage406, an un-configured media device “B” (e.g., un-configured media device100 b at stage 290 b of FIG. 2B) is powered up. At a stage 408 the RFsystem of un-configured media device “B” is activated. At stage 408, therespective RF systems of the configured “A” and un-configured “B” mediadevices are configured to recognize each other (e.g., via theirrespective BT 120 transceivers or another transceiver in the RF system).At a stage 410, if the configured “A” and un-configured “B” mediadevices recognize each other, then a “YES” branch is taken to a stage412 where the configured media device “A” transmits its configuration(e.g., CFG 125) to the un-configured media device “B” (e.g., see stages290 e and 290 f in FIG. 2B). If the configured “A” and un-configured “B”media devices do not recognize each other, then a “NO” branch is takenand the flow may return to an earlier stage (e.g., stage 404 to retrythe recognition process. Optionally, after being configured, mediadevice “B” may be connected with a wireless network (e.g., via WiFi130). At a stage 414 a determination is made as to whether or not mediadevice “B” is connected to a wireless network. If already connected,then a “YES” branch is taken and the process may terminate at a stage416. However, if not connected with a wireless network, then a “NO”branch is taken and media device “B” is connected to the wirelessnetwork at a stage 418. For example, the CFG 125 that was copied tomedia device “B” may include information such as wireless network nameand password and WiFi 130 is configured to effectuate the connectionwith the wireless network based on that information. Alternatively,media device “A” may transmit the necessary information to media device“B” (e.g., using BT 120) at any stage of flow 400 a, such as at thestage 408, for example. After the wireless network connection is made,the flow may terminate at a stage 420.

Attention is now directed to FIG. 4B, where a flow diagram 400 b depictsanother example of a process for configuring an un-configured mediadevice “B” (e.g., un-configured media device 100 b at stage 290 b ofFIG. 2B) using a configured media device “A” (e.g., media device 100 ahaving CFG 125 of FIG. 2B). At a stage 422 an already configured mediadevice “A” is powered up. At a stage 424 the RF system of configuredmedia device “A” is activated (e.g., RF system 107 of FIG. 1). The RFsystem is configured to detect RF signals from other “powered up” mediadevices. At a stage 426, an un-configured media device “B” (e.g.,un-configured media device 100 b at stage 290 b of FIG. 2B) is poweredup. At a stage 428 the RF system of un-configured media device “b” isactivated (e.g., RF system 107 of FIG. 1). At the stage 428, therespective RF systems of the configured “A” and un-configured “B” mediadevices are configured to recognize each other (e.g., via theirrespective BT 120 transceivers or another transceiver in the RF system).At a stage 430, if the configured “A” and un-configured “B” mediadevices recognize each other, then a “YES” branch is taken to a stage432 where the configured media device “A” transmits information for awireless network to the un-configured media device “B” (e.g., see stage290 b in FIG. 2B) and that information is used by the un-configuredmedia device “B” to connect with a wireless network as was describedabove in regards to FIGS. 2B and 4A. If the configured “A” andun-configured “B” media devices do not recognize each other, then a “NO”branch is taken and the flow may return to an earlier stage (e.g., stage424 to retry the recognition process. At a stage 434, the informationfor the wireless network is used by the un-configured media device “B”to effectuate a connection to the wireless network. At a stage 436, auser device is connected with the wireless network and an application(APP) running on the user device (e.g., APP 225 in FIG. 2B) isactivated. Stage 436 may be skipped if the user device is alreadyconnected to the wireless network. The APP is aware of un-configuredmedia device “B” presence on the wireless network and at a stage 438detects that media device “B” is presently in an un-configured state andtherefore has a status of “un-configured.” Un-configured media device“B” may include registers, circuitry, data, program code, memoryaddresses, or the like that may be used to determine that the mediadevice is un-configured. The un-configured status of media device “B”may be wirelessly broadcast using any of its wireless resources or othersystems, such as RF 107 and/or AV 109. At a stage 440, the APP is awareof configured media device “A” presence on the wireless network anddetects that media device “A” is presently in a configured state andtherefore has a status of “configured.” The APP harvests theconfiguration (CFG) (e.g., CFG 125 of FIG. 2B) from configured mediadevice “A”, and at a stage 442 copies (e.g., via a wireless transmissionover the wireless network) the CFG to the un-configured media device“B.” At a stage 444, previously un-configured media device “B” becomes aconfigured media device “B” by virtue of having CFG resident in itssystem (e.g., CFG 125 in DS system 103 in FIG. 1). After media device“B” has been configured, the flow may terminate at a stage 446. In otherexamples, the APP may obtain the CFG from a location other than theconfigured media device “A”, such as the Internet or the Cloud asdepicted in FIG. 2B. Therefore, at the stage 440, the APP may downloadthe CFG from a web site, from Cloud storage, or other locations on theInternet or an intranet for example.

In the examples depicted in FIGS. 2A-4B, after one of the media devicesis configured, additional media devices that are added by the user orare encountered by the user may be configured without the user (e.g.,user 201) having to break a BT pairing with one media device and thenestablishing another BT pairing with a media device the user is addingto his/her media device ecosystem. Existing media devices that areconfigured (e.g., have CFG 125) may be used to configure a new mediadevice using the wireless systems (e.g., acoustic, optical, RF) of themedia devices in the ecosystem. If multiple configured media devices arepresent in the ecosystem when the user adds a new un-configured mediadevice, configured media devices may be configured to arbitrate amongthemselves as to which of the configured devices will act to configuredthe newly added un-configured media device. For example, the existingmedia device that was configured last in time (e.g., by a date stamp onits CFG 125) may be the one selected to configure the newly addedun-configured media device. Alternatively, the existing media devicethat was configured first in time (e.g., by a date stamp on its CFG 125)may be the one selected to configure the newly added un-configured mediadevice. The APP 225 on the user device 220 or other, may be configuredto make the configuration process as seamless as possible and may onlyprompt the user 201 that the APP 225 has detected an un-configured mediadevice and query the user 201 as to whether or not the user 201 wantsthe APP 225 to configure the un-configured media device (e.g., mediadevice 100 b). If the user replies “YES”, then the APP 225 may handlethe configuration process working wirelessly with the configured andun-configured media devices. If the user 201 replies “NO”, then the APP225 may postpone the configuration for a later time when the user 201 isprepared to consummate the configuration of the un-configured mediadevice. In other examples, the user 201 may want configuration ofun-configured media devices to be automatic upon detection of theun-configured media device(s). Here the APP and/or configured mediadevices would automatically act to configure the un-configured mediadevice(s).

APP 225 may be configured (e.g., by the user 201) to automaticallyconfigure any newly detected un-configured media devices that are addedto the user's 201 ecosystem and the APP 225 may merely inform the user201 that it is configuring the un-configured media devices and informthe user 201 when configuration is completed, for example. Moreover, inother examples, once a user 201 configures a media device using the APP225, subsequently added un-configured media devices may be automaticallyconfigured by an existing configured media device by each media devicerecognizing other media devices (e.g., via wireless systems),determining the status (e.g., configured or un-configured) of each mediadevice, and then using the wireless systems (e.g., RF 107, AV 109, I/O105, OPT 185, PROX 113) of a configured media device to configure theun-configured media device without having to resort to the APP 225 onthe user's device 220 to intervene in the configuration process. Thatis, the configured media devices and the un-configured media devicesarbitrate and effectuate the configuring of un-configured media deviceswithout the aid of APP 225 or user device 220. In this scenario, thecontroller 101 and/or CFG 125 may include instructions for configuringmedia devices in an ecosystem using one or more systems in the mediadevices themselves.

In at least some examples, the structures and/or functions of any of theabove-described features may be implemented in software, hardware,firmware, circuitry, or in any combination thereof. Note that thestructures and constituent elements above, as well as theirfunctionality, may be aggregated with one or more other structures orelements. Alternatively, the elements and their functionality may besubdivided into constituent sub-elements, if any. As software, theabove-described techniques may be implemented using various types ofprogramming or formatting languages, frameworks, scripts, syntax,applications, protocols, objects, or techniques. As hardware and/orfirmware, the above-described techniques may be implemented usingvarious types of programming or integrated circuit design languages,including hardware description languages, such as any register transferlanguage (“RTL”) configured to design field-programmable gate arrays(“FPGAs”), application-specific integrated circuits (“ASICs”), or anyother type of integrated circuit. According to some embodiments, theterm “module” may refer, for example, to an algorithm or a portionthereof, and/or logic implemented in either hardware circuitry orsoftware, or a combination thereof. These may be varied and are notlimited to the examples or descriptions provided. Software, firmware,algorithms, executable computer readable code, program instructions forexecution on a computer, or the like may be embodied in a non-transitorycomputer readable medium.

Media Device with Proximity Detection

Attention is now directed to FIG. 5 where a profile view depicts oneexample 500 of media device 100 that may include on a top surface 199 sof chassis 199, a plurality of control elements 503-512 and one or moreproximity detection islands (four are depicted) denoted as 520. Mediadevice 100 may include one or more speakers 160, one or more microphones170, a display 180, a section 550 for other functions such as SEN 195,VID 109, or other, and antenna 124 which may be tunable 129. Eachproximity detection island 520 may be configured to detect 597 proximityof one or more persons, such as user 201 as will be described in greaterdetail below. The layout and position of the elements on chassis 199 ofmedia device 100 are examples only and actual layout and position of anyelements will be application specific and/or a matter of design choice,including ergonomic and esthetic considerations. As will be described ingreater detail below, detection of presence of user 201 may occur withor without the presence of one or more user devices 202, such as userdevices 210 and 220 depicted in FIG. 5. Circuitry and/or softwareassociated with operation of proximity detection islands 520 may work inconjunction with other systems in media device 100 to detect presence ofone or more user devices 202, such as RF system 107 detecting RF signals563 and/or 565 (e.g., via antenna 124) from user devices 210 and 220 orMIC 170 detecting sound, for example. Detection of presence may besignaled by media device 100 in a variety of ways including but notlimited to light (e.g., from 520 and/or 503-512), sound (e.g., from SPK160), vibration (e.g., from SPK 160 or other), haptic feedback, tactilefeedback, display of information (e.g., DISP 180), RF transmission(e.g., 126), just to name a few. SPK 160 and DISP 180 may be positionedon a front surface 199 f of chassis 199. A bottom surface 199 b ofchassis 199 may be configured to rest on a surface such as a table,desk, cabinet, or the like. Other elements of media device 100 may bepositioned on a rear surface 199 r of chassis 199.

Non-limiting examples of control elements 503-512 include a plurality ofcontrols 512 (e.g., buttons, switches and/or touch surfaces) that mayhave functions that are fixed or change based on different scenarios aswill be described below, controls 503 and 507 for volume up and volumedown, control 509 for muting volume or BT pairing, control 506 forinitiating or pausing playback of content, control 504 for fastreversing playback or skipping backward one track, and control 508 forfast forwarding playback or skipping forward one track. Some are all ofthe control elements 504-512 may serve multiple roles based on changingscenarios. For example, for playback of video content or for informationdisplayed on display 180 (e.g., a touch screen), controls 503 and 507may be used to increase “+” and decrease “−” brightness of display 180.Control 509 may be used to transfer or pick up a phone call or othercontent on a user device 202, for example. Proximity detection islands520 and/or control elements 503-512 may be backlit (e.g., using LED's orthe like) for night or low-light visibility.

Moving on to FIG. 6, a block diagram 600 depicts one example of aproximity detection island 520. Proximity detection island 520 may beimplemented using a variety of technologies and circuit topologies andthe example depicted in FIG. 6 is just one such non-limiting example andthe present application is not limited to the arrangement of elementsdepicted in FIG. 6. One or more proximity detection islands 520 may bepositioned on, connected with, carried by or otherwise mounted on mediadevice 100. For example, proximity detection island 520 may be mountedon a top surface 199 t of chassis 199. A structure 650 made from anoptically transmissive material such as glass, plastic, a film, anoptically transparent or translucent material, or the like. Structure650 may be made from a material that allows light 603, 607, 617, and 630to pass through it in both directions, that is, bi-directionally.Structure 650 may include apertures 652 defined by regions 651 (e.g., anopaque or optically reflective/absorptive material) used for providingoptical access (e.g., via apertures 652) to an environment ENV 198external to the media device 100 for components of the proximitydetection island 520. Structure 650 may be configured to mount flushwith top surface 199 t, for example. In some examples, structure 650 maynot include regions 651.

Proximity detection island 520 may include at least one LED 601 (e.g.,an infrared LED—IR LED) electrically coupled with driver circuitry 610and configured to emit IR radiation 603, at least one IR opticaldetector 605 (e.g., a PIN diode) electrically coupled with ananalog-to-digital converter ADC 612 and configured to generate a signalin response to IR radiation 607 incident on detector 605, and at leastone indicator light 616 electrically coupled with driver circuitry 614and configured to generate colored light 617. As depicted, indicatorlight 616 comprises a RGB LED configured to emit light 617 in a gambitof colors indicative of status as will be described below. Here, RGB LED616 may include four terminals, one of which coupled with circuitground, a red “R” terminal, a green “G” terminal, and a blue “B”terminal, all of which are electrically connected with appropriatecircuitry in driver 614 and with die within RGB LED 616 to effectuategeneration of various colors of light in response to signals from driver614. For example, RGB LED 616 may include a semiconductor die for LED'sthat generate red, green, and blue light that are electrically coupledwith ground and the R, G, and B terminals, respectively. One skilled inthe art will appreciate that element 616 may be replaced by discreteLED's (e.g., separate red, green, white, and blue LED's) or a singlenon-RGB LED or other light emitting device may be used for 616. Thevarious colors may be associated with different users who approach andare detected in proximity of the media device and/or different userdevices that are detected by the media device. Therefore, if there arefour users and/or user devices detected, then: the color blue may beassociated with user #1; yellow with user #2; green with user #3; andred with user #4. Some users and or user devices may be indicated usingalternating colors of light such as switching/flashing between red andgreen, blue and yellow, blue and green, etc. In other examples othertypes of LED's may be combined with RGB LED 616, such as a white LED,for example, to increase the number of color combinations possible.

Optionally, proximity detection island 520 may include at least onelight sensor for sensing ambient light conditions in the ENV 198, suchas ambient light sensor ALS 618. ALS 618 may be electrically coupledwith circuitry CKT 620 configured to process signals from ALS 618, suchas optical sensor 609 (e.g., a PIN diode) in response to ambient light630 incident on optical sensor 609. Signals from CKT 620 may be furtherprocessed by ADC 622. The various drivers, circuitry, and ADC's ofproximity detection island 520 may be electrically coupled with acontroller (e.g., a μC, a μP, an ASIC, or controller 101 of FIG. 1) thatis electrically coupled with a bus 645 (e.g., bus 110 of FIG. 1) thatcommunicates signals between proximity detection island 520 and othersystems of media device 100. Proximity detection island 520 may includeauditory system AUD 624 configured to generate sound or producevibrations in response to presence detection or other signals. AUD 624may be mechanically coupled 641 with chassis 199 to cause chassis 199 tovibrate or make sound in response to presence detection or othersignals. In some examples AUD 624 may use SPK 160 to generate sound orvibration. In other examples AUD 624 may use a vibration motor, such asthe type used in smartphones to cause vibration when a phone call ornotification is received. In yet another example, AUD 624 may use apiezoelectric film that deforms in response to an AC or DC signalapplied to the film, the deformation generating sound and/or vibration.In yet other examples, AUD 624 may be connected with or mechanicallycoupled with one or more of the control elements and/or one or more ofthe proximity detection islands 520 depicted in FIG. 5 to provide hapticand/or tactile feedback. Upon detecting and acknowledging an approach bya user and/or user device, media may generate sound (e.g., from SPK 160)in a rich variety of tones and volume levels to convey informationand/or media device status to the user. For example, a tone and volumelevel may be used to indicate the power status of the media device 100,such as available charge in BAT 135 of power system 111. The volume ofthe tone may be louder when BAT 135 is fully charged and lower forreduced levels of charge in BAT 135. Other tones and volume levels maybe used to indicate the media device 100 is ready to receive input fromthe user or user device, the media device 100 is in wirelesscommunications with a WiFi router or network, cellular service,broadband service, ad hoc WiFi network, other BT enabled devices, forexample.

Proximity detection island 520 may be configured to detect presence of auser 201 (or other person) that enters 671 an environment 198 the mediadevice 100 is positioned in. Here, entry 671 by user 201 may include ahand 601 h or other portion of the user 201 body passing within opticaldetection range of proximity detection island 520, such as hand 601 hpassing over 672 the proximity detection island 520, for example. IRradiation 603 from IRLED 601 exiting through portal 652 reflects offhand 601 h and the reflected IR radiation 607 enters portal 652 and isincident on IR detector 605 causing a signal to be generated by ADC 612,the signal being indicative of presence being detected. RGB LED 616 maybe used to generate one or more colors of light that indicate to user201 that the user's presence has been detected and the media device isready to take some action based on that detection. The action taken willbe application specific and may depend on actions the user 201programmed into CFG 125 using APP 225, for example. The action takenand/or the colors emitted by RGB LED 616 may depend on the presenceand/or detection of a user device 210 in conjunction with or instead ofdetection of presence of user 201 (e.g., RF 565 from device 210 by RFsystem 107).

As described above, proximity detection island 520 may optionallyinclude ambient light sensor ALS 618 configured to detect ambient light630 present in ENV 198 such as a variety of ambient light sourcesincluding but not limited to natural light sources such as sunny ambient631, partially cloudy ambient 633, inclement weather ambient 634, cloudyambient 635, and night ambient 636, and artificial light ambient 632(e.g., electronic light sources). ALS 618 may work in conjunction withIRLED 610 and/or IR detector 605 to compensate for or reduce errors inpresence detection that are impacted by ambient light 630, such as IRbackground noise caused by IR radiation from 632 or 631, for example. IRbackground noise may reduce a signal-to-noise ratio of IR detector 605and cause false presence detection signals to be generated by ADC 612.

ALS 618 may be used to detect low ambient light 630 condition such asmoonlight from 636 or a darkened room (e.g., light 632 is off), andgenerate a signal consistent with the low ambient light 630 conditionthat is used to control operation of proximity detection island 520and/or other systems in media device 100. As one example, if userapproaches 671 proximity detection island 520 in low light or no lightconditions as signaled by ALS 618, RGB LED 616 may emit light 617 at areduced intensity to prevent the user 201 from being startled or blindedby the light 617. Further, under low light or no light conditions AUD624 may be reduced in volume or vibration magnitude or may be muted.Additionally, audible notifications (e.g., speech or music from SPK 160)from media device 100 may be reduced in volume or muted under low lightor no light conditions (see FIG. 9).

Structure 650 may be electrically coupled 681 with capacitive touchcircuitry 680 such that structure 650 is operative as a capacitive touchswitch that generates a signal when a user (e.g., hand 601 h) touches aportion of structure 650. Capacitive touch circuitry 680 may communicate682 a signal to other systems in media device 100 (e.g., I/O 105) thatprocess the signal to determine that the structure 650 has been touchedand initiate an action based on the signal. A user's touch of structure650 may trigger driver 614 to activate RGB LED 616 to emit light 617 toacknowledge the touch has been received and processed by media device100.

Reference is now made to FIG. 7, where top plan views of differentexamples of proximity detection island 520 configurations are depicted.Although the various example configurations and shapes are depicted aspositioned on top surface 199 t of chassis 199, the present applicationis not so limited and proximity detection islands 520 may be positionedon other surfaces/portions of media device 100 and may have shapesdifferent than that depicted. Furthermore, media device 100 may includemore or fewer proximity detection islands 520 than depicted in FIG. 7and the proximity detection islands 520 need not be symmetricallypositioned relative to one another. Actual shapes of the proximitydetection islands 520 may be application specific and may be based onesthetic considerations. Configuration 702 depicts five rectangularshaped proximity detection islands 520 positioned on top surface 199 twith four positioned proximate to four corners of the top surface 199 tand one proximately centered on top surface 199 t. Configuration 704depicts three circle shaped proximity detection islands 520 proximatelypositioned at the left, right, and center of top surface 199 t.Configuration 706 depicts four hexagon shaped proximity detectionislands 520 proximately positioned at the left, right, and two at thecenter of top surface 199 t. Finally, configuration 708 depicts twotriangle shaped proximity detection islands 520 proximately positionedat the left, right of top surface 199 t. In some examples there may be asingle proximity detection island 520. Proximity detection islands 520may be configured to operate independently of one another, or incooperation with one another.

Moving to FIG. 8A, a top plan view of proximity detection island 520coverage is depicted. Each proximity detection island 520 may bedesigned to have a coverage pattern configured to detect presence ofuser 201 when the user 201 or portion of the user body (e.g., hand 801h) enters the coverage pattern. Here, the coverage pattern may besemicircular 810 or circular 830, for example. Semicircular 810 coveragepattern may extend outward a distance R1 (e.g., approximately 1.5meters) from proximity detection island 520 and may span a distance D1about a center 871 of proximity detection island 520. Semicircular 810coverage patterns of the four proximity detection islands 520 may notoverlap one another such that there may be a coverage gap X1 and Y1between the adjacent coverage patterns 810. Entry 825 of hand 801 h orentry 820 of user 201 may cause one or more of the proximity detectionislands 520 to indicate 840 that a presence has been detected, byemitting a color of light from RGB LED 616, for example. In otherexamples, the coverage pattern may be circular 830 and cover a 360degree radius 870 about a center point 871 of proximity detection island520. Circular 830 coverage pattern 830 may or may not overlap thecircular 830 pattern of the other proximity detection islands 520.

FIG. 8B depicts a front view 800 b of media device 100 and a coveragepattern 860 that has an angular profile Ω about center point 871. Hand801 h entering 825 into the coverage pattern 860 is detected byproximity detection island 520 and detection of hand 810 triggers light840 being generate by RGB LED 616 of proximity detection island 520.Detection of hand 810 may also cause information “Info” to be displayedon DISP 180 and/or sound 845 to be generated by SPK 160. In FIG. 8C, aside view 800 c of media device 100 is depicted with proximity detectionisland 520 having angular profile a about center point 871 for acoverage pattern 880. Hand 801 h entering 825 into the coverage pattern880 is detected by proximity detection island 520 and detection of hand810 triggers light 840 being generated by RGB LED 616 of proximitydetection island 520 and AUD 624 generating vibration 847.

Attention is now directed to FIG. 9, where a top plan view 900 of mediadevice 100 depicts four proximity detection islands 520 denoted as I1,I2, I3, and I4. Furthermore, control elements 503-512 are depicted ontop surface 199 t. In the example depicted, hand 901 h enters intoproximity detection range of at least proximity detection island I1 andtriggers generation of light (917 a-d) from one or more of the islands(I1, I2, I3, I4) such as light 617 from RGB LED 616 of FIG. 6, forexample. Presence detection by proximity detection island I1 may cause avariety of response from media device 100 including but not limited tosignaling that presence has been detected using light (917 a-d),generating sound 845 from SPK 160, vibration 847, displaying info 840 onDISP 180, capturing and acting on content C from user device 220,establishing wireless communications 126 with user device 220 or otherwireless device (e.g., a wireless router), just to name a few. Presencedetection by proximity detection island I1 may cause media device 100 tonotify user 201 that his/her presence has been detected and the mediadevice is ready to receive input or some other action from user 201.Input and/or action from user 201 may comprise user 201 actuating one ofthe control elements 503-512, touching or selecting an icon displayed onDISP 180, issuing a verbal command or speech detected by MIC 170.

As one example, upon detecting presence of user 201, media device 100may emit light 917 c from proximity detection island 13. If the userdevice 220 is present and also detected by media device 100 (e.g., viaRF signals 126 and/or 563), then the media device 100 may indicate thatpresence of the user device 220 is detected and may take one or moreactions based on detecting presence of the user device 220. If userdevice 220 is one that is recognized by media device 100, then light 917c from proximity detection island 13 may be emitted with a specificcolor assigned to the user device 220, such as green for example.Recognition of user device 220 may occur due to the user device 220having been previously BT paired with media device 100, user device 220having a wireless identifier such as a MAC address or SSID stored in orpre-registered in media device 100 or in a wireless network (e.g., awireless router) the media device 100 and user device 220 are inwireless communications with, for example. DISP 180 may display info 840consistent with recognition of user device 220 and may display via a GUIor the like, icons or menu selections for the user 201 to choose from,such as an icon to offer the user 201 a choice to transfer content Cfrom user device 220 to the media device 100, to switch from BT wirelesscommunication to WiFi wireless communication, for example. As oneexample, if content C comprises a telephone conversation, the mediadevice 100 through instructions or the like in CFG 125 may automaticallytransfer the phone conversation from user device 220 to the media device100 such that MIC 170 and SPK 160 are enabled so that media device 100serves as a speaker phone or conference call phone and media device 100handles the content C of the phone call. If the transfer of content C isnot automatic, CFG 125 or other programming of media device 100 mayoperate to offer the user 201 the option of transferring the content Cby displaying the offer on DISP 180 or via one of the control elements503-512. For example, control element 509 may blink (e.g., viabacklight) to indicate to user 201 that actuating control element 509will cause content C to be transferred from user device 220 to mediadevice 100.

In some examples, control elements 503-512 may correspond to menuselections displayed on DISP 180 and/or a display on the user device220. For example, control elements 512 may correspond to six icons onDISP 180 (see 512′ in FIG. 8) and user 201 may actuate one of thecontrol elements 512 to initiate whatever action is associated with thecorresponding icon on DISP 180, such as selecting a playlist for mediato be played back on media device 100. Or the user 201 may select one ofthe icons 512′ on DISP 180 to effectuate the action.

As one example, if content C comprises an alarm, task, or calendar eventthe user 201 has set in the user device 220, that content C may beautomatically transferred or transferred by user action using DISP 180or control elements 503-512, to media device 100. Therefore, a wake upalarm set on user device 220 may actually be implemented on the mediadevice 100 after the transfer, even if the user device 220 is powereddown at the time the alarm is set to go off. When the user device ispowered up, any alarm, task, or calendar event that has not beenprocessed by the media device 100 may be transferred back to the userdevice 220 or updated on the user device so that still pending alarm,task, or calendar events may be processed by the user device when it isnot in proximity of the media device 100 (e.g., when user 201 leaves fora business trip). CFG 125 and APP 225 as described above may be used toimplement and control content C handling between media device 100 anduser devices.

Some or all of the control elements 503-512 may be implemented ascapacitive touch switches. Furthermore, some or all of the controlelements 503-512 may be backlit (e.g., using LED's, light pipes, etc.).For example, control elements 512 may be implemented as capacitive touchswitches and they may optionally be backlit. In some examples, afterpresence is detected by one or more of the proximity detection islands(I1, I2, I3, I4), one or more of the control elements 503-512 may bebacklit or have its back light blink or otherwise indicate to user 201that some action is to be taken by the user 201, such as actuating(e.g., touching) one or more of the backlit and/or blinking controlelements 512. In some examples, proximity detection islands (I1, I2, I3,I4) may be configured to serve as capacitive touch switches or anothertype of switch, such that pressing, touching, or otherwise actuating oneor more of the proximity detection islands (I1, I2, I3, I4) results insome action being taken by media device 100.

In FIG. 9, actions taken by media device 100 subsequent to detectingpresence via proximity detection islands (I1, I2, I3, I4) and/or othersystems such as RF 107, SEN 195, MIC 170, may be determined in part onambient light conditions as sensed by ALS 618 in proximity detectionislands (I1, I2, I3, I4). As one example, if ambient light 630 is bright(e.g., 631 or 632), then brightness of DISP 180 may be increased, light917 a-d from islands may be increased, and volume from SPK 160 may benominal or increased because the ambient light 630 conditions areconsistent with waking hours were light intensity and volume may not bea distraction to user 201. On the other hand, if ambient light 630 isdim or dark (e.g., 636), then brightness of DISP 180 may be decreased,light 917 a-d from islands may be decreased, and volume from SPK 160 maybe reduced or muted because the ambient light 630 conditions areconsistent with non-waking hours were light intensity and volume may bea distraction to or startle user 201. Other media device 100 functionssuch as volume level, for example, may be determined based on ambientlight 630 conditions (e.g., as detected by ALS 618 of island I4). As oneexample, under bright ambient light 630 conditions, volume VH of SPK 160may be higher (e.g., more bars); whereas, under low ambient light 630conditions, volume VL of SPK 160 may be lower (e.g., fewer bars) or maybe muted entirely VM. Conditions other than ambient light 630 may causemedia device 100 to control volume as depicted in FIG. 9.

FIG. 10 depicts one example of a flow 1000 for presence detection,notification, and media device readiness. At a stage 1002 a query as towhether or not an approach is detected by one or more of the proximitydetection islands (e.g., I1, I2, I3, I4) is made. Here, the query may beby controller CNTL 640 or controller 101, for example. If one or more ofthe proximity detection islands have detected presence, then a YESbranch is taken. If no presence is detected by one or more of theproximity detection islands, then a NO branch is taken and the flow 1000may return to the stage 1002 to wait for one or more of the proximitydetection islands to detect a presence. The YES branch takes flow 1000to a stage 1004 where a notification is executed by the media device 100using light, sound, or vibration to notify a user that presence has beendetected, for example, using one or more colors of light (e.g., from RGBLED's 616) and/or an auditory cue (e.g., from SPK 160, vibration from847, or from a passive radiator used as one of the SPK 160). At a stage1006, the media device 100 indicates that it is ready to receive inputfrom a user and/or user device (e.g., user 201 or a user device 220 viaRF 107). At a stage 1008 a query is made as to whether or not an inputis received from a user. If an input is received from the user and/oruser device, then a YES branch is taken to a stage 1010 where the mediadevice 100 takes an appropriate action based on the type of user inputreceived and the flow may terminate after the stage 1010. Appropriateactions taken by media device 100 will be application dependent and maybe determined in whole or in part by APP 225, CFG 125, executableprogram code, hardware, etc. Inputs from the user includes but are notlimited to actuation of one or more of the control elements 503-512,touching an icon or other area of DISP 180, issuing a spoken command orspeech detected by MIC 170, taking an action on user device 220 that iswirelessly communicated to media device 100, just to name a few. If noinput is received from the user and/or user device, then a NO branch istaken and the flow 1000 may continue at a stage 1012 where flow 1000 mayenter into a wait period of predetermined time (e.g., of approximately15 seconds or one minute, etc.). If a user input is received before thewait period is over, then a NO branch may be taken to the stage 1010. Ifthe wait period is over, then a YES branch may be taken and flow 1000may resume at the stage 1002.

FIG. 11 depicts another example of a flow 1100 for presence detection,notification, and media device readiness. At a stage 1102 a query as towhether an approach is detected by one or more of the proximitydetection islands (e.g., I1, I2, I3, I4) is made. If one or more of theproximity detection islands have detected presence, then a YES branch istaken. If no presence is detected by one or more of the proximitydetection islands, then a NO branch is taken and the flow 1100 mayreturn to the stage 1102 to wait for one or more of the proximitydetection islands to detect a presence. The YES branch takes flow 1100to a stage 1104 where a query is made as to whether or not ambient light(e.g., ambient light 630 as detected by ALS 618 of FIG. 6) is a factorto be taken into consideration in the media devices response to havingdetected a presence at the stage 1102. If ambient light is not a factor,then a NO branch is taken and the flow 1100 continues to a stage 1106.If ambient light is a factor, then a YES branch is taken and flow 1100continues at a stage 1108 where any notification by media device 100 inresponse to detecting presence at the stage 1102 is modified. One ormore of light, sound, or vibration may be used by media device 100 toindicate to a user that its presence has been detected. The light,sound, or vibration are altered to comport with the ambient lightconditions, such as described above in regard to ambient light 630 inFIG. 9, for example. At the stage 1106, notification of presence beingdetected occurs using one or more of light, sound, or vibration withoutmodification. At a stage 1110, the media device 100 indicates that it isready to receive input from a user and/or user device (e.g., user 201 ora user device 220 via RF 107). At a stage 1112 a query is made as towhether or not an input is received from a user. If an input is receivedfrom the user and/or user device, then a YES branch is taken to a stage1114 where the media device 100 takes an appropriate action based on thetype of user input received and the flow may terminate after the stage1114. If no input is received from the user and/or user device, then aNO branch is taken and the flow 1110 may continue at a stage 1116 whereflow 1100 may enter into a wait period of predetermined time (e.g., ofapproximately 15 seconds or one minute, etc.). If a user input isreceived before the wait period is over, then a NO branch may be takento the stage 1114. If the wait period is over, then a YES branch may betaken and flow 1100 may resume at the stage 1102. Actions taken at thestage 1114 may include those described above in reference to FIG. 10.

FIG. 12 depicts yet another example of a flow 1200 for presencedetection, notification, and media device readiness. At a stage 1202 aquery as to whether an approach is detected by one or more of theproximity detection islands (e.g., I1, I2, I3, I4) is made. If one ormore of the proximity detection islands have detected presence, then aYES branch is taken. If no presence is detected by one or more of theproximity detection islands, then a NO branch is taken and the flow 1200may return to the stage 1202 to wait for one or more of the proximitydetection islands to detect a presence. The YES branch takes flow 1200to a stage 1204 where a query is made as to whether or not detection ofRF (e.g., by RF 107 using antenna 124) is a factor to be taken intoconsideration in the media devices response to having detected apresence at the stage 1202. If RF detection is not a factor, then a NObranch is taken and the flow 1200 continues to a stage 1206. If RFdetection is a factor, then a YES branch is taken and flow 1200continues at a stage 1208 where any notification by media device 100 inresponse to detecting presence at the stage 1202 is modified. One ormore of light, sound, or vibration may be used by media device 100 toindicate to a user that its presence has been detected. The light,sound, or vibration are altered to comport with the detection of RF(e.g., from a user device 220), such as described above in regards touser device 220 in FIG. 9, for example. At the stage 1206, notificationof presence being detected occurs using one or more of light, sound, orvibration without modification. At a stage 1210, the media device 100indicates that it is ready to receive input from a user and/or userdevice (e.g., user 201 or a user device 220 via RF 107). At a stage 1212a query is made as to whether or not an input is received from a user.If an input is received from the user and/or user device, then a YESbranch is taken to a stage 1214 where the media device 100 takes anappropriate action based on the type of user input received and the flowmay terminate after the stage 1214. If no input is received from theuser and/or user device, then a NO branch is taken and the flow 1200 maycontinue at a stage 1216 where flow 1200 may enter into a wait period ofpredetermined time (e.g., of approximately 15 seconds or one minute,etc.). If a user input is received before the wait period is over, thena NO branch may be taken to the stage 1214. If the wait period is over,then a YES branch may be taken and flow 1200 may resume at the stage1202. Actions taken at the stage 1214 may include those described abovein reference to FIGS. 9 and 10.

Although the foregoing examples have been described in some detail forpurposes of clarity of understanding, the above-described conceptualtechniques are not limited to the details provided. There are manyalternative ways of implementing the above-described conceptualtechniques. The disclosed examples are illustrative and not restrictive.

What is claimed is:
 1. A method for proximity-based control, comprising:detecting an approach of a user using a proximity detection islandpositioned on a media device; notifying the user, using one or more oflight, sound, or vibration, that a presence of the user has beendetected by the proximity detection island; indicating that the mediadevice is ready to receive input from the user; waiting for input fromthe user; and taking an action based on a type of input received fromthe user.
 2. The method of claim 1 and further comprising: determining,using an ambient light sensor, if ambient light indicates the approach.3. The method of claim 2 and further comprising: modifying the notifyingwhen the ambient light indicates the approach.
 4. The method of claim 2,wherein the ambient light comprises light in an environment in which themedia device is positioned.
 5. The method of claim 1 and furthercomprising: determining, using a radio frequency system, if a radiofrequency transmission detected by the radio frequency system indicatesthe approach.
 6. The method of claim 5 and further comprising: modifyingthe notifying when the radio frequency transmission detected by theradio frequency system indicates the approach.
 7. The method of claim 5,wherein the action taken is based on a type of radio frequencytransmission detected by the radio frequency system.
 8. The method ofclaim 5, wherein the radio frequency transmission is transmitted by auser device.
 9. A device, comprising: a controller in electricalcommunication with a data storage system including non-volatile memory,an input/output system, a radio frequency system including at least oneradio frequency antenna electrically coupled with a first transceiverbeing configured to wirelessly communicate using a first protocol, asecond transceiver being configured to wirelessly communicate using asecond protocol that is different than the first protocol, and an ad hoctransceiver being configured to wirelessly communicate only with otherdevices having the ad hoc transceiver using a third protocol that isdifferent than the first and second protocols, an audio/video systemincluding a loudspeaker electrically coupled with a power amplifier anda microphone electrically coupled with a preamplifier, and a proximitydetection island including an infrared light-emitting diode electricallycoupled with first driver circuitry, a photosensitive diode electricallycoupled with a first analog-to-digital-converter, a red-green-bluelight-emitting diode electrically coupled with second driver circuitry,and an optically transmissive structure being configured tobi-directionally pass light.
 10. The device of claim 9 and furthercomprising: capacitive touch circuitry included in the proximitydetection island and electrically coupled with the opticallytransmissive structure, the capacitive touch circuitry being configuredto generate a signal indicative of a change in capacitance caused by theoptically transmissive structure being touched.
 11. The device of claim9 and further comprising: an ambient light sensor included in theproximity detection island and electrically coupled with circuitry thatis in electrical communication with a secondanalog-to-digital-converter.
 12. The device of claim 9, wherein theproximity detection island is configured to detect a user presencewithin a detection range of the proximity detection island.
 13. Thedevice of claim 12, wherein detection of the user presence includesusing the radio frequency system to detect a radio frequencytransmission from a user device.
 14. The device of claim 9, wherein thesecond driver circuitry is configured to activate the red-green-bluelight-emitting diode to emit a color of light upon detection of a userpresence by the proximity detection island.
 15. The device of claim 9and further comprising: a plurality of control elements electricallycoupled with the input/output system, each control element beingconfigured to generate a signal indicative of actuation of the controlelement.
 16. The device of claim 15, wherein one or more of theplurality of control elements comprise capacitive touch switches. 17.The device of claim 15, wherein one or more of the plurality of controlelements are backlit.
 18. The device of claim 17, wherein the one ormore of the plurality of control elements that are backlit, emit lightwhen a user presence is detected by the proximity detection island. 19.The device of claim 9, wherein the proximity detection island isassociated with a specific function, the specific function being enabledwhen the proximity detection island detects a user presence.
 20. Thedevice of claim 9 and further comprising: a plurality of the proximitydetection islands, each proximity detection island being configured tooperate independently of other proximity detection islands in theplurality of the proximity detection islands.